Premiere night for Arlen Schumer’s exhibit on the work of Ira Schnapp certainly lived up to the hype. Draped in a Superman cape adorned with a Superman medallion, and with a Superman tie to complete his ensemble, Mr. Schumer and the wonderful Executive Director of The Type Directors Club, Ms. Carol Wahler, welcomed their guests warmly and most graciously to a night full of pleasant surprises in celebration of his latest exhibit and visual lecture, The Super Type of Ira Schnapp...

REVIEW: Arlen Schumer’s Outstanding IRA SCHNAPP Exhibit

Had a great night the other night: Arlen Schumer on Thursday launched his summer-long exhibit on the late DC Comicsmaster letterer Ira Schnapp.

To the uninitiated, this would seem like dry material. It’s anything but. As we chronicled over the last five weeks or so, Schnapp was an artist who brought special life to the work of others, whether it be on DC’s Silver Age covers or house ads. And he was responsible for so many of the best-known logos in the company’s history, going all the way back to Action Comics....

Dooley writes, “Arlen Schumer is a force to be reckoned with. He’s peerless in his unique knowledge and perspectives on the art and design of superhero comics. … And his presentations are not to be missed. … Bottom line: Go. See. Hear. Learn. And be very entertained.”

Would you believe that the artist who designed in engraved Roman letters the slogan, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night...” atop New York City’s main post office at Penn Station is the same man who designed the famous, iconic Superman comic book logo?

Both are the works of Ira Schnapp (1892-1969), a descendant of stonecutters, calligrapher and hand-letterer who defined the “house style” of DC Comics for over 30 years, starting with the Action Comics logo on the cover of Superman’s first appearance in 1938, and continuing with scores of others for the company, including hundreds of house ads promoting their monthly comics that are among some of the greatest examples of hand-lettering in the 20th Century.

Yet, for all of his ubiquitous works, to the comic book audience, as well as comic book historians, and of course the general audience, Schnapp’s name and legacy are unknown and forgotten.

But comic book historian and writer/illustrator/designer Arlen Schumer (The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, Archway Publishing) aims to change that with his lecture and collateral exhibit on Schnapp for the Type Directors Club of New York. The lecture will open the exhibit Thursday night, May 14th at 6:30pm, and run until September 25.

Schnapp's career peak came during the Silver Age of Comics (circa 1956-70), making Schumer’s book (http://www.arlenschumer.com), a showcase for Schnapp’s work. Schumer, a member of The Society of Illustrators, keeps Schnapp's style alive by incorporating Schnapp's unique hand-lettered fonts into his own comic book-styled illustration and design, which you can see here: http://arlenschumer.com/illustration/long-form-comics.html

"Just as art historians look back 500 years ago on the great Renaissance masters of the human figure like Michelangelo and Raphael, so too will art historians 500 years from now look back on the great masters of the human figure of our time, our great comic book artists like Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane—to name a few. Yet in fine art circles, it is still considered ‘blasphemous' to compare/contrast the two sets of artists. Join comic book historian Arlen Schumer (The Silver Age of Comic Book Art, Archway Publishing) as he does just that, with his provocative, perceptive presentation, comparing and contrasting the great artists and great artworks from the worlds of fine art and comic books, curating a fascinating journey through art...and comic book art!"

I’ll also be signing hardcover copies of my book, The Silver Age of Comic Book Art (www.arlenschumer.com) at my table both days of the ECCC! Look for me at my table (pic from last December’s Wintercon in Queens, NY)!

My art show that just opened at The Rosewood Arts Centre in Kettering, Ohio (www.rosewood.ketteringoh.org), where I’ll be lecturing (twice) & book signing Silver Age this weekend, both there and at the nearby Gem City Comic Con (2 lectures there) in Dayton (www.gemcitycomiccon.com), March 27-9!

What’s interesting is that one of my lectures is “Art & Comic Book Art,” which discusses the relationship between the 2 art worlds, and here I am lecturing at both an art gallery and a comic convention! Here’s the lecture description:

Just as art historians look back 500 years ago on the great Renaissance masters of the human figure like Michelangelo and Raphael, so too will art historians 500 years from now look back on the great masters of the human figure of our time, our great comic book artists like Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane—to name a few. Yet in fine art circles, it is still considered "blasphemous" to compare/contrast the two sets of artists. Join comic book historian Arlen Schumer (The Silver Age of Comic Book Art: www.arlenschumer.com) as he does just that, with his provocative, perceptive presentation, comparing and contrasting the great artists and great artworks from the worlds of fine art and comic books, curating a fascinating journey through art...and comic book art!

“Art & Comic Book Art” is based on an 11-page verbal/visual essay slated to be in the hardcover British comix anthology A-1 (edited by Dave Elliott) coming out later this year; the opening spread’s attached. It’s currently being serialized in 3 weekly installments on the pop culture site 13th Dimension: http://13thdimension.com/art-comic-book-art-by-arlen-schumer/

JEWS AND COMICS AT CITY LIGHTS GALLERY IN BRIDGEPORT, CT NOV. 14, 2014!I'll be presenting my "Jews 'n' Comics" VisuaLecture this Friday night, November 14, 2014 at 6:00pm at the City Lights Gallery in Bridgeport, CT, as part of their "Judaica Now" exhibit (where my Capt. Israel art is being shown—see an earlier post here)! From their site (http://www.citylightsgallery.org/?page_id=3122):

"Exhibiting artist, illustrator, author and editor Arlen Schumer, presents a fascinating survey and slideshow of Jewish comic artists, illustrators and editors who have influenced American pop-culture of the 20th century to the present, creating many of our super-heroes including Superman and Captain America."

I'll be signing my new Silver Age book and presenting my VisuaLecture, "The Silver Age of Comic Book Art" on Saturday November 1, 2014 at 6:00pm in Rm. E; and on Sunday, November 2, my 75th Anniversary of Batman VisuaLecture, "Bill Finger: The Man Who Made Batman, Batman" at 12:30pm in Rm. 555. www.ricomiccon.com